704-8A vs. 604-8H-II

[dgwojo]

I don't know about your 604-8H's but mine are alnico magnet versions, the 604-8K and 704-8A are not alnico, the nice thing about the new model is that they won't ever need magnet recharging. Regarding sound quality, I'd expect the 704 to be everything the 604 is and then some but I haven't heard them yet. I also think the 604's used a ported cabinet and the 704's when purchased from Iconic might be in a sealed cabinet, was the 704 designed for sealed vs ported cabinets?? There will be less cabinet dept required with the nonalnico magnets, they're flatter, Dave.

[MANZANITA]

This may be an old question, but are there any differences between the Iconic 704-8A duplex and the Great Plains 604-8H-II?

And has anyone out there in Altec land heard both, maybe even in a side by side demonstration? Have a freind asking advise about these and the original 604-8K I have. He has listened my to my 8K's and liked them and would like to get something equal or better. Don't want to sell my 8K's just now but would like to guide him to the best current duplex offering. TIA

John

[Jim D]

Todd, you got it part right. The 704 uses the standard aluminum diaphragm in the HF, not the 909 Pascolite unit. Although, I do not believe anyone can tell the difference between the two diaphragms we did mot change it in the 704-8A because some claim the lower power diaphragm sounds better. We do offer the Pascolite diaphragm in the 704-8AHP if you want it.
The improvement to the LF came out of the research and prototyping, by Jerry and I, of our 164-8A woofer. During measurements of the late 604Ks, Jerry found they were overdamped in the LF. We then applied the entire 164 low frequency section into the 704 which now has more linearity thsn any previous model including the alnico units. GPA is simply using the same LF motor structure of the 704. JIM

[MANZANITA]

Hello group.

Thanks for the clarification(s) concerning these great Duplexes. I forgot to bring the chineese 604 into the discusion. I assume it is the basic 604-8K pretty much as it was at the time of Altec's demise. Anyway the input has been very helpful and I have forwarded same to my friend for his use. Of coarse any additional comment would be greatly apprecated.

John

[Todd W. White]

The Great Plains Audio 604-8H-II and the Iconic 704-8A use the same motor structure, but the moving parts are slightly different.

The 704 uses hi-temperature voice coils in both the HF and LF sections. It also uses the 909-series HF diaphragm. The 604-8H-II uses standard 604-style voice coils of Kraft paper and the original, lightweight aluminium diaphragm used in all Altec-built 604's.

Both use the LF-style cone.

These differences are minor. Iconic feels that the hi-temp v/c's make for a more durable speaker, and Bill feels that it's not really an issue, so he uses the regular type (plus it keeps them more like the original series). Sonically, they are the virtually identical. Those who feel that they can hear a difference between the 902 and 909 diaphragms may be able to detect which one is using which, though most could not.

The 604-8H-II takes the 604 back to what it is SUPPOSED to sound like: a ceramic clone of the "G" with the better horn and phasing plug. The early K's sounded good, but, after EV made Altec change the magnets on the 604, the K-series suffered from a midband BUMP that made it appear, aurally, to be "bass shy".

The 604-8H-II solves this problem with a redesigned motor structure (thank you Jerry Hubbard) that compensates for the larger magnets, producing the most efficient 604 ever while providing smoother response.

Iconic's 704 uses hand-made crossovers that sound REALLY good. GPA is in the process of having high-quality crossovers built for the 604-8H-II, and should have them shortly.

Both are designed to be used in tuned vented boxes, the optimum internal volume of which being 9 cubic feet.

All-in-all, it's all according to where you want to get them - they're BOTH excellent speakers.

[selmerdave]

So Jim, are you basically saying that the Iconic driver is identical to the GP driver?

Dave

[Steve Mac]

I have the same question...two related companies are selling a virtually identical speaker except for the sturdier voice coil in the Iconic. I can't figure this one out...and they both sell or are going to sell crossovers for these speakers and both have green websites...

[selmerdave]

...and as I understand both are manufactured by GPA...

Dave

[cholt]

Steve, is it possible to get a list of the crossovers (with specifications, availability/manufacturing time, and prices) that Iconic is offering? The website is not helpful at this time. I have previously attempted to get this information, but have not been successful, thanks for your efforts, curt in LA ([email protected])

[Steve Burger]

These are excellent questions and to be honest the question about 2 companies offering the same or similar product is a bit of a dilema for us at this point. I cannot go into some of the issues behind Bill's decision to begin selling them himself. I can say that at this point, at least in terms of the raw 704 driver, we are selling them for the identical price of $685. In terms of the Stonehenge series of cabinets they are all ported. We were out of production of cabinets for a period of time as we were researching local cabinet makers which would give us better quality control of our product. At this point we have 2 cabinet makers that can uphold our standards of excellence. In terms of the crossovers I cannot speak in regards to the ones offered by GPA. I can say that each of the crossovers that we offer (and we offer 10 at this time and will be soon adding 2 more, including our completely new design for the 604g) are designed for the particular driver being used. We use the very best audiophile grade parts that we can find and each one is hand built and tested. I will say that we consider our products to be the best designs ever developed for the Iconic drivers as well as for the vintage Altec systems. We are open for business.